Thursday, September 9, 2010

"Every bird is common somewhere" is a bon mot I heard early in my birding career. Not this next one; not in long, long time. I recently dreamed about a species that slipped into extinction literally eons ago; the most famous "terror bird" - Gastornis gigantae. You may be more familiar with the previous genus name: Diatryma. Wikipedia is a good beginning reference for these fascinating creatures: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastornis

Gastornis gigantae - one of many "terror birds"

If you were wondering why they're called "terror birds"
(... Is that guy wearing a suit?)

Sadly, the dream was fairly short. The setting was straight out of Jurassic Park; a towering, impenetrable and foreboding tropical forest. I was part of a team, with at least two other people present. We were surveying what appeared to be Gastornis nests. They were two foot-high pedestals of hardened mud (with a lip) about two or so feet in diameter. Each was fairly stuffed with several very large white eggs; I'd estimate Ostrich-sized. Needless to say, I was pretty intensely anxious the entire time. The terse conversation between team members and I was mostly regarding keeping vigilant. The dream came to a brisk ending when I spotted a putative parent bird appear a few hundred feet away. With few words we all made a break for safety.